I hesitate comparing books to Jan Karon’s Mitford series -- mainly because I believe the writing got a bit self-conscious and the characters stale over the years. (Is it awful to say I was happy the author let Father Tim find his way to heaven?) But telling readers that a series reads like the Mitford books is easy shorthand, a way to tell readers that if they liked Mitford, they’ll love … whatever the town is. That’s how I felt about the first of Julie Cannon’s “Homegrown” books I read, Those Pearly Gates, set in the very real town Euharlee, Georgia. The books are about devout Christians (in Those Pearly Gates, two of the main characters are married to ministers), but I believe readers of any faith (or those like me with no official faith) would still enjoy the storytelling, characters, setting and straightforward writing. One plus is that the faith portrayed is loving and caring rather than dogmatic and judgmental, although one character struggles with the judgmental thing. The main characters are Imogene Lavender, her niece/adopted daughter Loutishie, and another adopted daughter, Jeanette. In an interview for the Spartanburg SC Herald-Journal, Julie said, "Imogene is a composite of all the Southern women I've known," and that she puts a bit of herself, including a “willful streak,” into Jeanette.

Books:

• (2007) The Romance Readers' Book Club See Review
• (2005) Those Pearly Gates See Review
• (2004) ‘Mater Biscuit
• (2001) Truelove and Homegrown Tomatoes

Profile:

(Excerpted from the author’s website … for the whole wonderful and often humorous story (with photos), click here.)

My family likes to remind me that as soon as I was able to string words together, I was telling my own stories, and in grammar school I began writing them down into little books crudely fashioned from stapled together construction paper. All my English teachers would put encouraging notes on my report cards, and for me, a particularly nerdy child (all knees, elbows, eyeglasses, and braces) it was a way to shine. To hold my head up a tiny bit even if I was picked last for teams at recess and P.E. In middle school I lived with a library book in my hand. Basically anxious and uncomfortable in social situations, one of my favorite things was to crawl off into a private nook and immerse myself in fabulous adventures, where there were no risks other than the hours flying by and my math homework left undone. A natural off-shoot of this voracious appetite and my love of story telling, I began to write even more, filling reams of lined paper with poems, haikus, and short stories. In high school (Cedar Shoals High in Athens, Georgia, class of ‘80) I became a contributor to a school sponsored literary magazine. One reason I had all that extra time to sit around writing was because no one ever asked me out on a date. I’m fairly certain that my social life was not enhanced by the fact that in addition to all my ceaseless writing, I raised chickens, and sheep, and showed 4-H beef steers (Perhaps had manure wedged up in the tread of my Pumas as I stepped into my classrooms). Still, I was a little sad that I turned no heads.

"Don’t worry, Julie," I consoled myself, "just follow your dreams. When you get out of here, you can write books for a living." But then, for one of those reasons that is never quite clear, except to say that I was a good little southern girl who listened when folks told her you couldn’t make a living writing books, I entered the University of Georgia’s Journalism school to earn a degree in advertising …

Profile and photo from the author's website. Used with permission.

Website: http://www.juliecannon.info/